Cao Cao
Ming Dynasty block print portrait of Cao Cao from Sancai Tuhui
King of Wei
Born	155 Bozhou, Anhui, China
Died	March 15, 220 (aged 64–65) Luoyang, Henan, China
Successor	Cao Pi
Names
Simplified Chinese	曹操
Traditional Chinese	曹操
Pinyin	Cáo Cāo
Wade-Giles	Ts'ao2 Ts'ao1
Style name	Mengde (孟德)
Posthumous name	King Wu (武王) Emperor Wu (武帝)
Temple name	Taizu (太祖)
Other names	Infant names A'man (阿瞞) Jili (吉利)

Cao Cao (Mandarin pronunciation: [tsʰɑ̌ʊ tsʰɑ́ʊ]; 155 – March 15, 220)^[1] was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled Emperor Wu of Wei. Although often portrayed as a cruel and merciless tyrant, Cao Cao has also been praised as a brilliant ruler and military genius who treated his subordinates like his family. He was also skilled in poetry and martial arts and wrote many war journals.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Cao was born in the county of Qiao (present day Bozhou, Anhui) in 155. His father Cao Song was a foster son of Cao Teng, who in turn was one of the favorite eunuchs of Emperor Huan. Some historical records, including the Biography of Cao Man, claim that Cao Song's original family name was Xiahou.

Cao was known for his craftiness as an adolescent. According to the Biography of Cao Man, Cao's uncle complained to Cao Song about Cao Cao's indulgence in hunting and music with Yuan Shao. In retaliation, Cao Cao feigned a fit before his uncle, who immediately rushed to inform Cao Song. When Cao Song went to see his son, Cao Cao behaved normally. When asked, Cao Cao replied, "I have never had a fit, but I lost the love of my uncle, and therefore he deceived you." Afterwards, Cao Song ceased to believe his brother regarding Cao Cao, and thus Cao Cao became even more blatant and perseverant in his wayward pursuits.

At that time, a man living in Runan named Xu Shao was famed for his ability to evaluate one's potentials and talents. Cao paid him a visit in hopes of receiving an evaluation that would help him politically. At first, Xu refused to make a statement; however, under persistent questioning, he finally said, "You would be a capable minister in peaceful times and an unscrupulous hero in chaotic times."^[2] Cao laughed and left. It is worth noting that there are two other versions of the comment in other unofficial historical records: "capable minister in peaceful times, unrighteous hero in chaotic times" and "sinister foe in peaceful times, great hero in chaotic times."^{[citation needed]}

Statue of Cao Cao

At the age of 20, Cao was appointed district captain of Luoyang. Upon taking up the post, Cao placed rows of multicolored stakes outside his office and ordered his deputies to flog those who violated the law, regardless of their status. An uncle of Jian Shuo, one of the most powerful and influential eunuchs under Emperor Ling, was caught walking in the city after the evening curfew by Cao's men and was flogged. This prompted Jian Shuo and other higher authorities to ostensibly promote Cao to the post of governor of Dunqiu County while actually moving him out of the imperial capital. Cao remained in this position for little more than a year, being dismissed from office in 178 for his distant family ties with the disgraced Empress Song.^[3] Around 180, Cao Cao returned to court as a Consultant (議郎) and presented two memoranda against the eunuchs' influence in court and government corruption during his tenure, to limited effect.^[4]

When the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in 184, Cao was recalled to Luoyang and appointed "Captain of the Cavalry" (騎都尉) and sent to Yingchuan to suppress the rebels. He was successful and was sent to Ji'nan (濟南) as Chancellor (相) to prevent the spread of Yellow Turban influence there. In Ji'nan, Cao Cao aggressively enforced the ban on unorthodox cults, destroyed shrines, and supported state Confucianism. He offended the local leading families in the process, and resigned on grounds of poor health around 187, fearing that he had put his family in danger.^[5] He was offered the post of Administrator of Dong Commandery (東郡), but he declined and returned to his home in Pei county. Around that time, Wang Fen (王芬) tried to recruit Cao Cao to join his coup to replace Emperor Ling with the Marquis of Hefei, but Cao Cao refused. The plot came to nothing, and Wang Fen killed himself.^[6]

Alliance against Dong Zhuo[link]

After eighteen months in retirement, Cao Cao returned to the imperial capital in 188. That year, he was appointed Colonel Who Arranges the Army (典軍校尉), fourth of eight heads of a newly established imperial army, the corps of the Western Garden (西園軍). The effectiveness of this new force never became known, since it was disbanded the next year.^[7]

In 189, Emperor Ling died and was succeeded by his eldest son (Emperor Shao), although state power was mainly in the hands of Empress Dowager He and others. The empress dowager's brother, General-in-Chief He Jin, plotted with Yuan Shao to eliminate the Ten Attendants (a group of influential eunuchs in the imperial court). He Jin summoned Dong Zhuo, a seasoned general of Liang Province, to lead his army into Luoyang to pressure the empress dowager to surrender power, despite accusations of Dong's "infamy". Before Dong arrived, He Jin was assassinated by the eunuchs and Luoyang was thrown into chaos as Yuan Shao's supporters fought the eunuchs. Dong's army easily rid the palace grounds of opposition. After he deposed Emperor Shao, Dong placed the puppet Emperor Xian on the throne, as he deemed that Emperor Xian was more capable than the original puppet Emperor Shao.

After rejecting Dong Zhuo's appointment, Cao left Luoyang for Chenliu (southeast of present day Kaifeng, Henan, Cao's hometown), where he built his army. The next year, regional warlords formed a military alliance under Yuan Shao against Dong. Cao joined them, becoming one of the few actively fighting members of the coalition. The coalition fell apart after months of inactivity, and China fell into civil war while Dong was killed in 192 by Lü Bu.

Securing the emperor[link]

Through short-term and regional-scale wars, Cao continued to expand his power. In 193, Cao massacred thousands of civilians in Xu Province to avenge his father's death.

In 196, Cao joined Emperor Xian and convinced him to move the capital to Xuchang as suggested by Xun Yu and other advisors, as Luoyang was ruined by war and Chang'an was not under Cao's military control, and he was appointed chancellor. Cao became commander-in-chief (大將軍) and Marquis of Wuping (武平侯), though both titles had little practical implication. While some viewed the emperor as a puppet under Cao's control, Cao adhered to a strict personal rule to his death that he would not usurp the throne. Later, when he was approached by his advisors to overthrow the Han Dynasty and start his own dynasty, he replied, "If heaven bestows such a fate upon me, let me be King Wen of Zhou."^[8]

To maintain a good relationship with Yuan Shao, who had become the most powerful warlord in China when he united the northern four provinces, Cao lobbied to have Yuan appointed Minister of Works. However, this had the opposite effect, as Yuan believed that Cao was trying to humiliate him, since Minister of Works technically ranked lower than Commander-in-chief, and thus refused to accept the title. To pacify Yuan, Cao offered his own position to him, while becoming Minister of Works himself. While this temporarily resolved the conflict, it was the catalyst for the Battle of Guandu later.

Uniting the North[link]

In 200, Yuan Shao amassed more than 100,000 troops and marched southwards on Xuchang in the name of rescuing the emperor. Cao gathered 20,000 men in Guandu, a strategic point on the Yellow River. The two armies came to a standstill as neither side was able to make much progress. Cao's lack of men did not allow him to make significant attacks, and Yuan's pride forced him to meet Cao's force head-on. Despite his overwhelming advantage in terms of manpower, Yuan was unable to make full use of his resources because of his indecisive leadership and Cao's position.

Besides the middle battleground of Guandu, two lines of battle were present. The eastern line with Yuan Tan of Yuan Shao's army against Zang Ba of Cao's army was a one-sided battle in favor of Cao, as Yuan Tan's poor leadership was no match for Zang's local knowledge of the landscape and his hit-and-run tactics. On the western front, Yuan Shao's nephew, Gao Gan, performed better against Cao's army and forced several reinforcements from Cao's main camp to maintain the western battle. Liu Bei, then a guest in Yuan Shao's army, suggested that he instigate rebellion in Cao's territories as many followers of Yuan were in Cao's lands. The tactic was initially successful but Man Chong's diplomatic skills helped to resolve the conflict almost immediately. Man had been placed as an official there for this specific reason, as Cao had foreseen the possibility of insurrection prior to the battle.

Finally, a defector from Yuan Shao's army, Xu You, informed Cao of the location of Yuan's supply depot. Cao broke the stalemate by sending a special group of soldiers to burn all the supplies of Yuan's army, thus winning a decisive and seemingly impossible victory. Yuan Shao fell ill and died shortly after the defeat, leaving two sons – the eldest son, Yuan Tan and the youngest son, Yuan Shang. As he had designated the youngest son, Yuan Shang, as his successor, rather than the eldest as tradition dictated, the two brothers fought each other, as they fought Cao. Cao used the internal conflict within the Yuan clan to his advantage and defeated the Yuans easily. Cao assumed effective rule over all of northern China. He sent armies further out and expanded his control across the Great Wall into present-day Korea, and southward to the Han River.

The Three Kingdoms[link]

Traditional site of the Red Cliffs, north of Wulin

However, Cao's attempt to extend his domination south of the Yangtze River was unsuccessful. He received an initial success when Liu Biao, Governor of Jing Province, died, and his successor, Liu Cong surrendered to Cao without resistance. Delighted by this, he pressed on despite objections from his military advisors and hoped the same would happen again. His forces were defeated by a coalition of his arch-rivals Liu Bei and Sun Quan (who later founded the states of Shu Han and Eastern Wu respectively) at the Battle of Red Cliffs in 208.

In 213, Cao was titled "Duke of Wei" (魏公), given the nine bestowments, and given a fief of ten cities under his domain, known as Wei. In 216, Cao was promoted to "King of Wei" (魏王). Over the years, Cao, as well as Liu Bei and Sun Quan, continued to consolidate their power in their respective regions. Through many wars, China became divided into three powers – Wei, Shu and Wu, which fought sporadic battles without the balance tipping significantly in anyone's favor.

In 220, Cao died in Luoyang at the age of 65, having failed to unify China under his rule. His will instructed that he be buried near Ximen Bao's tomb in Ye without gold and jade treasures, and that his subjects on duty at the frontier were to stay in their posts and not attend the funeral as, in his own words, "the country is still unstable".

Cao's eldest surviving son Cao Pi succeeded him. Within a year, Cao Pi forced Emperor Xian to abdicate and proclaimed himself the first emperor of Cao Wei. Cao Cao was then posthumously titled "Grand Ancestor Emperor Wu of Wei" (魏太祖武皇帝)

Cultural legacy[link]

A mask of Cao Cao in Chinese opera.

While historical records indicate Cao as a brilliant ruler, he was represented as a cunning and deceitful man in Chinese opera, where the character of Cao is given a white facial makeup to reflect his treacherous personality. When writing the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Luo Guanzhong took much of his inspiration from the opera.

As a result, unscrupulous depictions of Cao have become much more popular among the common people than his real image. There have been attempts to revise this depiction.^[9][10]

As the Romance of the Three Kingdoms has been adapted to modern forms of entertainment, so has its portrayal of Cao. Given the source material upon which these adaptations are founded, Cao continues to be characterised as a prominent villain.

Through to modern times, the Chinese equivalent of the English idiom "speak of the Devil" is "Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives." (Chinese: 說曹操，曹操到; pinyin: Shuō Cáo Cāo, Cáo Cāo dào).

After the Communists won the Chinese Civil War in 1949, many people in China began to believe that there were many similarities between Cao Cao and the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong. Because of this perceived similarity, Party propagandists began a long-term, sustained effort to improve the image of Cao Cao in Chinese popular culture. In 1959, Marshal Peng Dehuai wrote a letter to Mao in which he compared himself to Zhang Fei: because of Mao's popular association with Cao, Peng's comparison implied that he had an intuitively confrontational relationship with Mao. Mao had the letter widely circulated in order to make Peng's attitude clear to other Party members, and proceeded to purge Peng, eventually ending Peng's career.^[11]

Agriculture and education[link]

While waging military campaigns against his enemies, Cao did not forget the bases of society – agriculture and education.

In 194, a locust plague caused a major famine across China. According to the Records of the Three Kingdoms, the people ate each other out of desperation. Without food, many armies were defeated without fighting. From this experience, Cao saw the importance of an ample food supply in building a strong military. He began a series of agricultural programs in cities such as Xuchang and Chenliu. Refugees were recruited and given wasteland to cultivate. Later, encampments not faced with imminent danger of war were also made to farm. This system was continued and spread to all regions under Cao as his realm expanded. Although Cao's primary intention was to build a powerful army, the agricultural program also improved the living standards of the people, especially war refugees.

By 203, Cao had eliminated most of Yuan Shao's force. This afforded him more attention on construction within his realm. In autumn of that year, Cao passed an order decreeing the promotion of education throughout the counties and cities within his jurisdiction. An official in charge of education was assigned to each county with at least 500 households. Youngsters with potential and talents were selected for schooling. This prevented a lapse in the output of intellectuals in those warring years and, in Cao's words, would benefit the people.

Poetry[link]

Cao Cao was an accomplished poet, as were his sons Cao Pi and Cao Zhi. Cao Cao was also a patron of poets such as Xu Gan.^[12] Of Cao's works only a remnant remain today. His verses, unpretentious yet profound, helped to reshape the poetic style of his time and beyond, eventually contributing to the poetry styles associated with Tang Dynasty poetry. Cao Cao and his sons Cao Pi and Cao Zhi are collectively known as the "Three Caos". Together with certain other poets, their poetry formed the backbone of what is known as the Jian'an style. Jian'an is the era name for the period from 196 to 220, the final era of the Han Dynasty; however, poets, such as of the Cao family continued to write and develop poetry in this style after the end of the Han and after the founding of the Cao Wei dynasty: these are the "Jian'an" poets. Poetry was affected by civil strife towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, contributing to the Jian'an poems' often solemn yet heart-stirring tone, frequently lamenting the ephemeral nature of life. From the early folk songs characteristic of Han poetry, the Jian'an poetry represents a transition towards a more scholarly poetry characteristic of Six Dynasties poetry. Cao Cao and other Jian'an poets were specifically noted for developments to the characteristic Han fu (or yuefu), while keeping some features, the uneven line lengths derived from the folksong or ballad tradition were eliminated, or changed into a regular five-character line-length style—very similar and inspirational to the regular five-character line shi poetry of the Tang Dynasty. Cao Cao himself also was noted for his ballad style verse, which he apparently set to music.^[13]